Von Strantz Sets the Stage for Weekly Performances at Bethel College Cafe

Sufficient Grounds Café will be hosting weekly live performances featuring local bands starting Friday, Jan. 18 at 7 p.m. The building is located on LaSalle Ave. across from the Everest-Rohrer Chapel/Fine Arts Center on Bethel’s main campus.

“We want more people from the community to come and enjoy the new coffee shop,” says Director of Auxiliary Services Ed Bernhard. “The café is a great place for live performances that bring entertainment and culture to our campus and community.”

The $1.1 million facility named Sufficient Grounds houses both the café and campus store. The building opened in November of 2012. The shop also contains conference and meeting space for the public.

Friday’s performance will begin at 7 p.m. with an opening act followed by the local indie soul band Von Strantz. Featured artists in Von Strantz include: Chad Campbell on drums, Nicolas Leatherman on bass, Kelsey Arntzen on violin and vocals, and Jess Strantz on lead vocals, piano and guitar. Von Strantz is a local Indie group with a record label with Fourth Tribe Records. Their musical influences include: City in Colour, Over The Rhine, Radio Head, Bill Malohne, The National, Bach, Chopin, Miles Davis, Bill Withers and Aretha Franklin.

Performances are every Friday night and are free and open to the public.

Bethel College is an accredited Christian college offering associate, bachelor’s and master’s degrees in more than 70 areas of study. The current enrollment of more than 2,000 includes students from 34 states and Puerto Rico, 19 countries, more than 25 denominations and 16 percent from culturally diverse backgrounds. Scholarships are available based upon a variety of factors including academic achievement, talent in the arts or athletics, ethnicity and church affiliation. In addition to its beautifully wooded 75-acre main campus in Mishawaka, Ind., Bethel also offers specific academic programs at sites in Elkhart, Ind., Fort Wayne, Ind., Dowagiac, Mich., and St. Joseph, Mich. Nursing programs are also offered in cooperation with Grace College in Winona Lake, Ind.